It’s been rare for the Boston Celtics to see adversity at TD Garden this season, but it arrived on Tuesday night in the early going.
Boston fell behind by the Cleveland Cavaliers by 15 points halfway through the first quarter, which quickly brought doubts about whether the team would be able to extend its 10-game winning streak at home. Those doubts were quieted, as Boston erased nearly the entire deficit by intermission. Cleveland made more runs in the second half, but the Celtics’ counters were stronger. When crunch time arrived, Cleveland was ready to throw up the white flag down just seven with 31 seconds left on the clock.
Boston was 26 of 26 from the free throw line and had a 20-point edge in made free throws.
"It's the game," Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "It tells the story of the game. Our guys drive, penetrate. No way we end up with only nine free throws (attempted), and they shoot 26. I don't know how to explain it. ... You can't overcome a discrepancy 26 to nine. I'll go back and take a look at it, but it's really hard to defend the free-throw line."
This was my favorite hustle play from the game. Derrick White didn’t give up after he failed to secure the offensive rebound. Instead, he stuck with it and got the pilfer after creeping up on Jarrett Allen. An extra offensive possession following an opponent's defensive rebound is a major momentum shifter, especially when you can draw a foul on the play.
Being willing to drag the game into the trenches and impose your physicality is something that can help swing a game or slow down an opponent that’s got it rolling. It’s encouraging to see the Celtics embrace the “dawg-like” aspects of the game. Oftentimes you need to show a nasty streak, and that isn’t always by being physically aggressive, because sometimes it can be as simple as consistently mucking things up.
Brown opened the second half with a layup, then hit a quick 3-pointer that put Boston up 64-61. Three straight 3-pointers by Mitchell put Cleveland right back in front and the Cavs continued to lead through much of the third quarter.
Boston went back up when Tatum hit a 3-pointer for an 86-84 lead and Boston was up 94-92 entering the fourth quarter, but couldn’t pull away by much.
Mitchell was called for a technical after complaining about an on out-of-bounds call with 2:18 left in the second quarter. Tatum’s free throw tied it at 57-all, then a layup by Brown put Boston up 59-57 for the Celtics’ first lead of the game.
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